The present invention relates generally to golfing equipment and is particularly directed to a golf ball marker holder of the type which mounts on top of a person""s shoe. The invention is specifically disclosed as holding apparatus that mounts to a person""s shoe by sliding the shoe lace through a slot in the holding apparatus, and into a receiving area that has a contoured area that retains the shoe lace therein; a receptacle is provided on a top surface of the holding apparatus to receive a ball marker.
There are a number of patents that disclose holders or carriers to contain ball markers, and several of these devices are to be used with a golfer""s shoe. In some cases, a clip is used to fasten the holder/carrier to the side of a shoe. On the other hand, some of these devices have holes through which shoelaces are to be inserted, thereby holding the holder/carrier in place onto the golfer""s shoe. Three examples of this type of design are patents by Suzuki, Walbeck, Perry, and Maretka, which are discussed below in more detail.
In many of these holder/carriers that contain ball markers, the marker itself is to be made of some type of metallic material that can be magnetized by a permanent magnet, and thereby held in place against the permanent magnet that is located in the holder/carrier. In most of these situations, the ball marker is simply a flat disc that is circular in shape. However, ball markers are also disclosed in patents that have a stud protruding from the center of the disc at a perpendicular angle. In some of these patents, the stud is to be engaged in a xe2x80x9csnap relationshipxe2x80x9d to a recess or orifice in the holder/carrier. Examples of this arrangement are the Maretka and Grinder patents, which are discussed below in greater detail.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,215 (by Suzuki) discloses a golf ball position marker assembly which is mainly circular in shape. The xe2x80x9cassemblyxe2x80x9d includes a golf ball marker that is in the form of a circular disc having a projection that will stick into the ground on a green, and includes a holder that has a circular recess. This recess also includes a permanent magnet to hold the marker disc in place, which also comprises a magnetizable material. The holding assembly includes a xe2x80x9cholexe2x80x9d through which a shoelace can be placed. This hole in the first embodiment is generally rectangular in shape, and a groove is placed in one of the walls of this rectangular-shaped structure so that the shoelace or shoe xe2x80x9cthreadxe2x80x9d can be passed through the groove and into the hole. This groove is not to be very large, so that the holding assembly will not easily fall off the shoelace once it has been attached thereto. This Suzuki holder assembly uses a ball marker that comprises some type of magnetizable material, which may retain a small magnetic field that potentially could affect a golf ball having an iron core. This could be a disadvantage with respect to the trajectory of a golf ball being putted on the green.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,189 (by Walbeck) discloses a golf accessories holder that can be worn on clothing or shoes, and can hold golf tees, a ball marker, and a green repair tool in various pockets. In one embodiment, a detachable and re-attachable strap is used to hold the accessories holder to a belt, or more precisely to strap it around the belt. In a second embodiment, a pair of holes in the accessories holder are provided through which a shoestring of the golfer""s shoe is inserted, thereby holding the accessories holder in place. A center pocket that is V-shaped is used to hold a ball marker. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the ball marker is depicted as comprising a small plastic or metal disc having a central stem portion that is pushed into the ground on the green surface. The accessories holder is more or less permanently attached to the shoestrings of the golfer""s shoe, since the shoestrings must be run through holes in the accessories holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,662,677 (by Perry) discloses a golf tee holder that is attached to the laces of a golfer""s shoe. This tee holder has three pockets, each having the capacity to hold a single golf tee. It is designed to be placed along the side of the golfer""s shoe, and is disclosed as having three small holes near its top portion that are spaced so as to correspond exactly with eyelets or grommets of the golfer""s shoe. The golf tee holder disclosed in Perry is made of a flexible material so that it will lay along the side of the golfer""s shoe. It is designed so as to not interfere with normal walking so that it need not be removed from the shoe when the golfer is changing shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,364 (by Maretka) discloses a golf accessory that is to be fastened to the outside of a golfer""s shoe. The accessory is placed along the side of the shoe in which there are two holes near the top portion of the accessory that match up to the eyelets of the shoe. The golfer""s shoelaces are to be inserted through these holes, thereby permanently affixing the golf accessory along the side of the shoe. This golf accessory can hold a pair of tees, and also a ball marker. The ball marker is essentially to be plugged into a recess near the bottom portion of the golf accessory. The ball marker is a circular disc, which has a male stud that protrudes at a perpendicular angle from the center of the circular disc. This male stud fits into a xe2x80x9csnap retainer socketxe2x80x9d that has a recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,237 (by Grinder) discloses a xe2x80x9cgolfer""s aidxe2x80x9d that holds golf tees, a divot repair tool, and a ball marker. This golfer""s aid includes a spring clip that attaches the holder to a shoe, belt, waistband, or pocket, or potentially even the golfer""s bag. This combination holder looks like a pouch-like piece of material having two elongated vertical pockets on its sides which hold two tees, a center vertical portion to hold a divot tool, and a xe2x80x9csnap fastenerxe2x80x9d in the very middle of the holder that is designed to receive a male stud portion that is constructed as part of the ball marker. In this case, the ball marker comprises a circular disc having a center stud protruding at a perpendicular angle from the center of the disc. The spring clip portion of the combination holder allows this ball marker to clip over a pocket, a belt, or the side of a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,950 (by Bazzle) discloses a golfer""s shoe that contains a permanent magnet. This permanent magnet is illustrated as being located along the side of the shoe, below the eyelets that hold the shoestrings in place. A thin metal disc ball marker is placed on the permanent magnet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,436 (by Hoyt) discloses a golf accessory that holds tees and a ball marker, and also acts as a divot repair tool. This accessory device is to be clipped onto the side of the shoe of the golfer. The main portion of the accessory""s clip that slides over the upper edge of a shoe is arranged essentially the same as any type of money clip or belt clip. The portion of the golf accessory that holds a ball marker is located above the portion of the clip that slides over the side of the shoe. This top portion or xe2x80x9chandlexe2x80x9d of the golf accessory has an orifice that receives a protruding pin or stud of a ball marker. There is no magnetic material involved in this ball marker holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,802 (by Ludwick) discloses a combination golf ball position marker and carrier, which is formed in the shape of a belt clip and includes a permanent magnet to hold two small magnetic discs. The general structure of the carrier is U-shaped, although one arm of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d extends further than the other. Within the U-shape is a channel or slot that is designed to receive a portion of the belt, or to be slid over the edge of a pocket. There are two little buttons formed within the interior wall structure of one side of this U-clip, which are designed to apply a small amount of pressure against the belt, thereby preventing the carrier from sliding off of the belt. The extended arm of this xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d-shaped device contains a permanent bar magnet. There are also a pair of circular recesses that can receive small circular discs that are composed of magnetizable material, for example, a zinc iron alloy. These discs are to be used in the same manner as a dime for ball placement on the green. These discs are to be slid into the recesses, after which the discs will be held in place by the permanent magnet that is contained within the U-shaped clip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,500 (by Kaymen) discloses a golf ball position marker and storage device that is generally in the form of a belt clip. Its visual appearance makes it look like a money clip, however, it is designed to slip over a belt or the waistband of slacks or a skirt. The outer arm of the clip contains a knob that projects outwardly at a 90 degree angle from the clip, and from a round magnet that is permanently attached to the clip and around the periphery of the knob. A circular golf ball marker is designed to slip over the knob and against the permanent magnet, and therefore the marker itself is made of a magnetizable material. The marker is to have a center opening that is approximately the size of the knob, although somewhat larger so as to easily slip over the knob. According to Kaymen, the marker should be relatively large, about one inch in diameter or the size of a quarter. Moreover, Kaymen discusses the projections that are found on many golf ball markers and claims that these projections will eventually be declared illegal since they must be pressed into the soil of a green to anchor the marker. This apparently has not yet occurred, even though this patent was written over fifteen years ago.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,999 (by Tate) discloses a xe2x80x9cgolf accessoryxe2x80x9d that can be used to hold papers, a ball marker, a cigarette, or can be used to clean the face of irons. With respect to holding a ball marker, the golf accessory is generally circular in shape at its upper portion, and at its lower portion has a pair of prongs that are to be used to stick the accessory into the ground. This is the mode that is used to hold a lighted cigarette while the player takes a shot. The upper portions of the accessory include a 180 degree bend at the very top of the device, although this bend cannot be viewed except from the side. From the front or back, the top portion appears to be circular. On one side of the circular outer surfaces is an emblem that could be used to designate a particular golf tournament. On the opposite side, the circular appearance includes a recess that can hold a circular ball marker. In the illustrated embodiments described in Tate, there is a permanent magnet that is located within the recess, so that the ball marker (made of a magnetically activated material) can be placed into the recess and retained by the magnet. There is a leaf spring that can be used to hold papers in place like a money clip, if desired. This leaf spring is on the inner surface of the U-shaped interior bent portion that makes up the top portion of the accessory. It would be possible to also clip the entire accessory to a belt, cap, shoe, or golf bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,095 (by Snyder) discloses a device that holds a golfer""s xe2x80x9caccouterments.xe2x80x9d These accouterments include a pair of ball markers, three tees, and a divot repair tool. These devices are generally attached to the front side of the accessory by some type of springs or other cords that hold the tees and the divot tool in place. The ball markers are the type that comprise a circular disc and have a spike or stud extending from the center of the disc at a perpendicular angle. In this Snyder patent, the spike of the ball marker is placed through a recess in a (more or less) rigid portion of the accessory to hold these ball markers in place. The overall accessory uses a spring clip to attach the accessory to a belt, waistband, or shoes of the golfer. There is no specific drawing showing exactly how this accessory holder would be used with a shoe, just the mere mention that sometimes female golfers attempt to attach tees and ball markers to their shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,621 (by Tate) discloses a xe2x80x9cgolf accessoryxe2x80x9d that can be clipped onto a belt, cap, shoe, or golf bag. This accessory can be used as a divot tool, a money clip, a golf ball radius gauge, or a golf club face defect finder. The accessory has a xe2x80x9ccenterpiecexe2x80x9d circular disk that is to used as an ornamental area to commemorate a golf course or a golf tournament. This patent discloses a similar structure to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,999 (also by Tate), however, this Tate ""621 patent does not discuss ball markers.
It would be desirable to provide a ball marker holder that can slip over a golfer""s shoe lace and direct that shoe lace into a receiving area that, once entered, will retain the shoe lace therewithin. There would be even more advantage to such an arrangement whereby the shoe lace does not need to be directed through a hole or other encircled opening for the means for attaching the ball marker holder to the golfer""s shoe.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention to provide a golf ball marker holder that includes a slot-type area to receive a shoe lace of a golfer""s shoe, and after receiving the shoe lace, sliding that shoe lace into a receiving area that will be used to retain the shoe lace. It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a golf ball marker holder in which a shoe lace receiving area can be easily accessed, and after the shoe lace has been placed into that receiving area, the shoe lace will be retained by the shape of the receiving area, including the shape of a slot through which the shoe lace traveled to reach that receiving area. It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a golf ball marker holder of a unitary construction, in which the holder is made up of two portions that are pivotally attached to one another, and when the two portions are mated will form the unitary structure with a slot to receive the shoe lace of a golfer""s shoe.
Additional advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention.
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a golf ball marker holder is provided that can be placed upon the top surface of a golfer""s shoe and by which an attaching methodology is one where the shoe lace of the golfer""s shoe is slid up a slot, past a retaining structure, and into a receiving area, after which the shoe lace is tightened and the golf ball marker holder is retained in place. In the embodiment illustrated herein, the golf ball marker holder is of a unitary structure having two major portions, in which these two portions are pivotally attached to one another to form an upper and lower portion that forms a slot therebetween. This slot is used to receive the shoe lace of a golfer""s shoe, and the golf ball marker holder is maneuvered to slide the shoe lace through the slot and into a receiving area. Once the shoe lace reaches that receiving area, the shoe lace will be retained by a corner structure within the slot, which will not allow the shoe lace to easily slide back out of the slot. Thus, the golf ball marker holder is retained by the shoe lace on top of the golfer""s shoe.
The golf ball marker holder includes a receptacle/orifice that is able to receive the protruding post of a golf ball marker of more than one size and shape. Once the golf ball marker has been placed into this receiving receptacle/opening, then the golfer will have a readily available ball marker which can be easily found and used when the golfer attempts to mark a ball on a putting green, for example. Most golfers would prefer to have two such golf ball marker holders, one per shoe. This allows the golfer to mark two balls simultaneously.
Still other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description and drawings wherein there is described and shown a preferred embodiment of this invention in one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.